Education Authorities familiarize in linking the Education Act 2023 with Subordinate Documents

A week-long Bi-Annual Education Authority Forum is currently underway at Padoga conference room at Henderson in East Honiara.

The forum commenced on Monday 13th and will conclude on Friday 17th, November 2023.

About 70 participants comprising of Education Authorities (soon to become Education Providers under the new Education Act), Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) officials and stakeholders are participating in the forum.

Organized by the Education Authority Support Unit (soon to become Education Provider Support Unit – EPSU) under the new Education Act 2023), the bi-annual forum was to set a foundation for all EPs to familiarize themselves with the Education Act 2023 and to understand the link to the subordinate documents, contribute ideas to the socialization of the ELF and identify immediate actions in preparation for the commencement and implementation of the Education Act 2023.

The discussions on the first day centred around the commencement of the Education Act 2023 especially its content and its link to the subordinate documents was led by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Franco Rodie.

There was a high level of participation from the participants as reflected in the group discussions.

On the second day, Tuesday 14^th November, the discussions focused on the Education Providers Administrative Instruction, expectations and implications of each EP, as well as the function of the Provincial Education Coordination (PECO) office and the staff who are expected to man the office and the EPs officers in the province.

On Wednesday 15 November, the participants will deliberate on the implications for each EP, particularly on three Administrative Instructions (AI); these are (AI) 1: Provincial Coordination, AI 4: Schools and AI 6: Teachers and Leaders.

On Thursday 16 November the participants will look into managing changes that are anticipated to occur under the Education Act, what they can do at the commencement of the Act, strategy to disseminate the Education Legislative Framework and share thoughts on the implementation and best practices.

At the conclusion of the Forum on Friday 17^th November the participants will discuss the delegated functional and reporting structures to be introduced, funding code, cost of educating a child, teacher service division support to EP, Solomon Island Information Management Information system, Monitoring and Evaluation, Solomon Islands Secondary Entrance Assessment year 7 placement finalization and Education Planning Support Unit (EPSU) 2024 planning.